Warriors-Clippers Preview

By NOEY KUPCHANPosted Mar 12 2014 2:45AM

Thanks largely to Blake Griffin, the Pacific Division-leading Los Angeles Clippers are enjoying their longest winning streak of the season.

The second-place Golden State Warriors have put together an impressive run of their own.

Both teams try to keep their runs going as Los Angeles and visiting Golden State close their season series Wednesday night.

The Clippers (45-20) have won eight in a row while averaging 115.5 points and continued their surge Monday by beating Phoenix 112-105 behind 37 points from Griffin.

"He is one of those players that you can't stop," teammate Danny Granger told the Clippers' official website. "He had a jump shot going on tonight, and a lot of times he just bullies people. Push them under the rim and lay the ball up or dunk it. That makes some people mad, when you have a force like him."

Griffin, who had 22 points in the first quarter, shot 14 of 16. The four-time All-Star has scored at least 20 in a career-high 23 straight games, a stretch over which he is averaging 27.8.

"Blake has been doing it all year long, dominating all year long, he's being consistent," guard Darren Collison said. "I think we're used to it which is a good thing. ... He's just reading the defense, if they're pressing on him, he's using his strength. If they're playing off him, he's taking that shot. He's playing with a lot of confidence right now."

Griffin will try to keep rolling against the Warriors (41-24), who have won five straight after easily getting by Dallas 108-85 on Tuesday. Jordan Crawford came off the bench to lead five Warriors in double figures with 19 points, and Golden State shot 51.3 percent while holding the Mavericks to 36.6 percent.

The Warriors are four games behind Los Angeles in the division and sit three games ahead of Dallas and Memphis for sixth place in the Western Conference.

"It's a big-time win for us," coach Mark Jackson said. "If you lose this game, then all of the sudden there's three teams again within striking distance. I think this gave us some breathing room, especially with the fact that we have a big game (Wednesday) night against a red-hot Clippers team."

Golden State's last four wins have come by an average of 15.7 points.

"It's fun," Crawford said. "To be on a streak like this heading into the playoffs and to move up the standings, it brings the competitive spirit out in everybody."

While the Warriors have thrived of late, leading scorer Stephen Curry (23.3 points per game) has been relatively quiet while playing through a quadriceps injury. He has gone 6 of 23 from 3-point range while averaging 14.8 points during the winning streak.

Curry has shot 28 of 45 (62.2 percent) from long distance and put up 24.0 points per game in his last six against the Clippers.

The Warriors have taken seven of 10 in the series but are 2-6 in their last eight visits to Los Angeles. The Clippers won 126-115 in the last matchup at Staples Center on Oct. 31 as Chris Paul led the way with 42 points and 15 assists while Curry scored 38.

Clippers guard Jamal Crawford, second on the team with 18.7 points per game, is uncertain to be available after missing four of the last five games with a strained left calf.

Copyright 2014 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

The Clippers are on this roll against good teams, at a perfect time for their playoff preparations - and just like Griffin's mind-blowing dunk, they're doing it with style.

Griffin had 30 points and 15 rebounds, Granger added 18 points off the bench, and the Clippers surged past the Golden State Warriors 111-98 Wednesday night.

Chris Paul had 16 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds for the Clippers, who split their four-game season series against their Pacific Division rivals with an impressive finish to a tight game.

"This is the time of year when you want to be playing your best," Griffin said. "Our fight has been great. Whoever is on the court ... up 10 or down 10, I think we've come to a point where it doesn't really matter. We stick together and try to pull it out."

Griffin was in top form on both ends of the court, punctuating his latest monster performance with that rebound slam with 8:18 to play. The four-time All-Star has scored 20 points in 24 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in the NBA this season.

Los Angeles has the third-longest winning streak in club history and the team's best record after 66 games (46-20), but the Clippers don't seem satisfied by their five-game lead over Golden State in the division standings.

"It's impressive, because for the most part, we've been playing good teams," Granger said after his fifth game with the Clippers. "You really want to peak at this time going into the playoffs, because if a team is hitting on all cylinders, you look up and you're in the finals."

Klay Thompson scored 26 points and David Lee had 20 for the Warriors, whose five-game winning streak ended with their fourth straight loss to the Clippers at Staples Center. Curry had just 13 points and 11 assists before sitting out the final minutes.

Golden State got an impressive game from Thompson, but its normally reliable bench went 3 for 25, struggling mightily for most of the second half.

"We've been playing great basketball against some good teams, and we thought we could come in here and play very well and get a win," Curry said. "It didn't turn out that way, but one loss isn't going to stop us. We're going to continue that momentum, that rhythm."

Los Angeles held Golden State to just one field goal in a 9:40 stretch spanning the final two quarters. The Warriors stayed in it with defense and free throws, but Darren Collison scored six quick points down the stretch in the fourth quarter, and Matt Barnes' 3-pointer with 1:25 to play essentially sealed the win.

The California clubs completed their series with another demonstration of the reasons they might have the West Coast's best current rivalry, although both teams agree they need playoff stakes to develop true enmity.

"All four games this year have been very competitive games," Lee said. "Both teams took care of their homecourt. I think we're two pretty evenly matched teams that have big plans for the postseason, so we look forward to seeing what happens the rest of the season. These last three games we've played felt like playoff-style games."

Granger kept the Clippers in it during a rocky first-half stretch, making his first six shots without a miss in about 11 minutes. Los Angeles rolled off a 15-3 run to close the third quarter with an 84-79 lead, scoring nine straight points capped by Paul's 3-pointer on a crosscourt assist from Griffin with 0.1 seconds left.

NOTES: Paul missed eight of his first nine shots and struggled all night under tight defense from Thompson. Paul went back out on the Staples Center court after the game with an assistant coach to work on his shot after his 5-for-15 effort. ... Clippers G Jamal Crawford sat out for the fifth time in six games with a strained left calf. Jared Dudley returned from a three-game absence with back spasms, but played just one minute. ... Griffin grabbed his 3,000th career rebound late in the first half. He is the third player in NBA history to have 6,000 points, 3,000 boards and 1,000 assists in his first four full NBA seasons while also making 50 percent of his shots, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Charles Barkley.

Copyright 2014 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Notebook: Clippers 111, Warriors 98

THE FACT: Clippers forward Blake Griffin had 30 points and his 15 rebounds put him over 3,000 for his career, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Charles Barkley as the only players to amass 6,000 points, 3,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists while shooting at least 50 percent from the floor before the end of their fourth NBA seasons.

THE LEAD: The Clippers and Warriors have nowhere to go but up. Two of the youngest and most athletic teams in the NBA got together Wednesday night and went toe-to-toe in what's becoming one of the most interesting rivalries in the Western Conference. The Warriors, playing on the second night of back-to-back games, finally hit a rough patch in the fourth quarter and L.A. took advantage, pulling away in the final minutes for a 111-98 victory that pushed its season-long winning streak to nine and concluded the season series with Golden State at 2-2.

QUOTABLE: "We have to prove to ourselves that we can win games like that. ... We have to learn physical composure and mental toughness and that is where we are growing."-- Clippers coach Doc Rivers

THE STAT: The Clippers improved to 28-11 against the Western Conference this season, which is tied with the Thunder for the most victories.

TURNING POINT: Neither team led by more than four points until early in the third quarter as both combined for 20 lead changes in the first half. The Clippers ended the third quarter on a 9-0 run to give them a five-point lead heading into the fourth and their advantage was still just four when Darren Collison got hot, scoring six of his 11 points in an 8-2 run that gave L.A. its first double-digit lead at 101-91 with 3:55 left and Golden State couldn't get closer than seven down the stretch.

HOT: Griffin filled up the stat sheet but it was Danny Granger and Willie Green who came off the bench and gave the Clippers the biggest shot in the arm. Granger, in his fifth game with the Clippers since he was acquired just after the trade deadline, had his best game with L.A. He sank his first six shots before finishing with 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting. Green, forced into a bigger role because of injuries to fellow shooting guards Jamal Crawford (calf strain) and J.J. Redick (bulging disc in back), shot 5-for-6 and pitched in 13 points, including eight in the third quarter when L.A. outscored the Warriors 30-23. Golden State received solid performances among its starters. Klay Thompson returned to his native Southern California and scored 26 points on 10-for-19 shooting and David Lee shot 10-for-15 on his way to 20 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Both managed just one field goal in the fourth quarter, however.

QUOTABLE II: "Danny Granger is just getting better and better and he is getting more comfortable."-- Doc Rivers

NOT: After putting up 59 points in a 23-point win over the visiting Mavericks on Tuesday night, the Golden State bench had a forgetful night, combining to shoot 3-for-25 from the field and score 20 points with 13 of those coming on free throws. Steve Blake, in his first game back at Staples Center after he was dealt from the Lakers to Golden State last month, shot 0-for-6, Jordan Crawford was 0-for-5 and Harrison Barnes and Jermaine O'Neal combined to shoot 1-for-5. Clippers point guard Chris Paul seems to be favoring his right groin and he came up gimpy a couple times. He missed nine of his first 10 shots before finishing 5-for-15 with 16 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds. He showed how committed he is after the game, coming back out on the court and practicing his jumper with one of the assistant coaches.

GOOD MOVE: Griffin has produced his share of highlight-reel dunks off lob passes, but he undoubtedly unleashed his most impressive dunk off an offensive rebound and it couldn't have come at a better time. With the Clippers clinging to a five-point lead with just over eight minutes left in the game, Granger took a 3-point shot from the left wing that circled the rim before launching back out toward the key. Out of the blue arrived Griffin, who caught the ball cocked and ready, throwing it down as his forehead nearly grazed the rim. The basket gave L.A. a 91-84 lead, matching its biggest of the game, and left the crowd buzzing for several minutes afterward. The Warriors had a good plan early on, posting up the 6-foot-7 Thompson on the 6-foot Collison and that resulted in two quick baskets, but Rivers soon countered by bringing in the 6-foot-3 Green to guard Thompson and the Warriors were forced to change tactics.

BAD MOVE: The intensity surrounding the game could probably explain some of it, but there was some real poorly timed fouls by both sides. Griffin fouled Draymond Green as he heaved a long shot attempt just before the first-quarter buzzer, resulting in three free throws with a half-second left that tied the score at 29. Green later pulled down Griffin away from the ball in the final seconds of the third quarter, negating a 3-point basket by Barnes. At the start of a timeout early in the fourth quarter, O'Neal decided he was going to have words with some of the Clippers and that earned him a technical foul. Clippers center DeAndre Jordan apparently didn't learn because he was issued a technical foul at the start of the next timeout.

QUOTABLE III: "I got on DJ for his tech. Fourth quarter techs you cannot recover from and those are the little things we have to get away from."-- Doc Rivers

NOTABLE: Griffin had 10 points in the first quarter, the 17th time this season he has scored at least 10 in the opening 12 minutes. ... Clippers forward Jared Dudley, who missed the previous three games with back spasms, checked into the game for the final 15 seconds of the first half, but that was all he played.